Amar, Tarik Cyril. “Between James Bond and Iosif Stalin: Seventeen Moments of Spring, a Soviet Cultural Event of the Cold War and the Post-Thaw.” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 21, no. 3 (2020): 627-658. https://doi.org/10.1353/kri.2020.0030.
Amar’s historical article explores Seventeen Moments of Spring and how its narrative and effect reflect the Cold War tensions and thaw that were happening at the time. Amar claims that Seventeen Moments was a highly political phenomenon that showcased Soviet values and victories and acted as a reaction to the Bond franchise during a time of conflict between east and west. He additionally claims that Seventeen Moments was highly ideological and functioned as propaganda for Soviet intelligence services, the triumph of east over west, the ideal Soviet citizen, and Stalinism. I plan to use this article to add context to the political and ideological nature of Seventeen Moments of Spring, the main contributor to why the novel might fall short of being a modern tragedy as its main character fights for a noble ideal, supports the establishment he works for, and offers an optimistic view (despite the tragic end he faces).
- “ it was an important contribution to a transformation of Stalin’s memory, the effects of which we are still, or again, witnessing today: from a virtual god with a cult—a “kumir-idol,” in the terms of the de-Stalinizers—to a superior and, most important, indispensable statesman, a kind of uberrealist-in-chief, transcending the ordinary standards of morality so much that they cease to apply.” (Amar).
- “Shtirlits was the story’s knight in shining (if obscurely) armor, a champion not simply of Soviet intelligence but humanism and, indeed, grace. But Stalin was its indispensable leader, a statesman without whose superior insight Shtirlits would, literally, not have known what to do in the first place.” (Amar).
Block, Haskell M. “Some Notes on the Problem of Modern Tragedy.” Comparative Literature Studies 9, no. 1 (March 1972): 80-84. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40245960.
In his short article of dramatic and literary criticism, Block argues that modern tragedies are just poor versions of classical tragedies that attempt to be something new. He refutes the claim that the hero in modern tragedies is not a nobleman and therefore does not fit the rules of classical tragedy by claiming that in modern tragedy, the tragic hero has a natural greatness to him, something that makes him equal to the high born hero of the classic age. Additionally, Block claims that both modern and classic tragedies deal with similar themes of suffering and self knowledge. I do not think this source offers much to my argument, but it might help as an example of those who believe there is no such thing as “modern tragedy.” I could use it as somewhat of a counterargument to introduce a discussion on modern tragedy. Important keyterms: tragic heroes, classical tragedy, rules, suffering, self knowledge.
Useful quotations:
- On tragic heroes: “It is derived from the depth, intensity, and complexity of his suffering, a suffering through which the tragic hero acquires a knowledge of himself of the human condition that he and we could not have gained any other way. It is not enough to see the classical tragic hero as a victim, irremediably doomed to defeat and death. We should see him as affirming human dignity as well as his own nobility even in the moment of catastrophe.”
Gassner, John. “The Possibilities and Perils of Modern Tragedy.” The Tulane Drama Review 1, no. 3 (June 1957): 3-14. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1124983.
In his article of dramatic criticism, John Gassner discusses the arguments of both the pro-modernists and ant-modernists when it comes to tragedy. He explains the difference between modern tragedy and classical tragedy, stating that modern tragedy shows realism while classical shows idealism. He first describes the anti-modernist view, describing that many think modern tragedy fails in contrast to the classical. This is due to its lack of traditional tragic elements and overzealous attempts at intellectualism and doing something “new.” He then describes the pro-modernist view, stating that they largely deal with the relationship between character and environment and are therefore open to more than characters of the higher class. These characters are able to convey many facets of humanity, and their distinction as anti-heroes is not completely new, as it could also be attributed to some characters in classical tragedies like Richard III. I would use this source to form the criteria for what makes modern tragedies. I could also synthesize its discussion about the relationship of character and environment to Moses who discusses it and its effects in a similar manner, just focusing more on The Great Gatsby. Important keyterms are: Modern tragedy, classical tragedy, intellectualism, character, environment, social class, privilege, anti-heroes, morality.
Useful Quotations:
- “A commonplace realism, then, takes the place of the ideality to which the art of tragedy aspires by historical example since the time of Aeschylus and by critical prescript since the time of Aristotle.”
- “Modern dramatists could reveal more, rather than fewer, facets of humanity.”
- “The modern view started, sensibly enough, with considerations of character and environment.”
Kimmelman, George. “The Concept of Tragedy in Modern Criticism.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 4, no. 3 (March 1946): 141-160. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/427000.
Kimmelman’s article discusses tragedy’s handling within modern criticism. Though not specifically describing modern tragedy, his article does outline some of the basic elements that are considered to make dramas “tragedies” such as struggle, exaltation, and catharsis. Additionally, he describes in very clear terms what he believes makes a tragic figure or hero. I plan to use these descriptions to form the audience’s basic understanding of what tragedies are and entail. I will then build upon this understanding to then discuss modern tragedies and their connections to spy stories. Important Keyterms are: struggle, catharsis, destruction, tragedy, power, egotism.
- These include (a) the “struggling” protagonist who pits his “will” against his fateful antagonists, the Gods, Nature, Society, or his own destructive impulses; (b) the mood of “exaltation” associated not only with his “heroic” deeds but also with the ends for which he is destroyed; and (c) the power to achieve a “catharsis” by means of “pity” and “terror” (Kimmelman, 141).
- Describes tragic heroes as “people who are destroyed by the overwhelming vices of perfidy, lust for power, jealousy, egotism, cynicism, etc., let alone the complicating afflictions of mental pathology” (Kimmelman, 142).
Lovell, Stephen. “In Search of an Ending: Seventeen Moments and the Seventies.” In The Socialist Sixties: Crossing Borders in the Second World, edited by Anne E. Gorsuch and Diane P. Koenker, 303–22. Indiana University Press, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gz7q4.17.
Lovell’s historical book chapter describes the origins and making of the Seventeen Moments of Spring TV series. He focuses largely on the cultural impact of the series, sharing the extent of the public’s reaction to it and describing its appeal. He additionally describes its ideological purpose as pro-Soviet and anti-American propaganda. Heultimately concludes that its cult-classic status came from its expansion into a 12 part miniseries that expanded the plot, its inner monologues, and made it a collective experience. I plan to use this source to contextualize Seventeen Moments in my paper and support the claims Amar makes about its ideological and political functions.
- “The director of the Gor’kii Studio recalled that there had been some debate on whether to make the film for TV or for the big screen. While it was a shame to take viewers away from the cinema, he concluded that Seventeen Moments would have greater “ideological” value on TV.”
- “The series quickly generated its own folklore: Ekaterina Gradova, who took the lead female role, was mobbed in a grocery store near her home and took two hours to return to her worried husband; the divorce rate spiked after the first showing of the series as women understood the full extent of their husbands’ inadequacy; there was a fashion for naming sons Iulian.”
- “The series was a politically orthodox enterprise, neatly fitting both the Cold War context and the flourishing genre of the anticapitalist spy story”
Moses, Edwin. “TRAGIC INEVITABILITY IN THE GREAT GATSBY.” CLA Journal 12, no. 1 (September 1977): 51-57. Accessed November 6, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44329324.
In his literary article, Edwin Moses claims that the tragedy that is seen in The Great Gatsby derives from the disruption of social order, similar to nemesis in tragedy. He believes strongly that the tragic inevitability that is displayed in The Great Gatsby, is based on environment and can be seen explicitly throughout the first chapter. He bases this disruption on the relationship between self and environment, stating that Gatsby taking Daisy away from East Egg to his house on West Egg, and Tom leaving East Egg to be with Myrtle showcase the disruption that leads to a tragic lack of balance. He claims that these changes in settings showcase and symbolize the disruption of social class that this novel is all about. Gatsby’s tragic end, he states, is inevitable because of the expansive and symbolic divide the bay forms between East and West Egg, separating him from what he wishes to achieve. I would use this source to support the claim that Gatsby is similar to a double agent, attempting to disrupt a system (that being the social system). Important keyterms are: social order, self, environment, social class, balance, tragedy.
Useful Quotations:
- “The fundamental natural law in the world of The Great Gatsby is that the relationship between self and environment physical setting as symbol and embodiment of social milieu is integral.”
Snyder, John R. “The Spy Story as Modern Tragedy.” Literature/Film Quarterly 5, no. 3 (Summer 1977): 216-234. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43795562.
Snyder’s literary/film criticism article discusses how spy stories, with their depiction of the relationship between man and state, are examples of modern tragedy, a belief he feels strongly about and claims is indicative of the public’s fixation on spy stories. Throughout his article, he explains that the spy heroes are passive agents of both history and their institutions who lose their own self identity and morality due to their dedication to the establishment. On the search for “truth” the spy hero meets his doom, being sacrificed for the integrity of the system in which he works. In such spy stories, Snyder claims that totalitarian evil wins no matter what due to the tragic nature of the spy story and that the stories themselves are inherently anti-establishment narratives. He uses a comparison to detective stories and examples from popular spy movies and books to build these arguments. This article forms the basis of my understanding of spy stories as modern tragedy and is the foundation and starting point of my own argument. Important keyterms are: tragedy, spy stories, establishment, passivity, dedication, institution, politics, morality, identity.
Useful Quotations:
- “With the spy story, however, we encounter a hero who is really passive”
- “. As he detects the truth of identity or situation, the modern spy meets his doom: either he himself or his mission is sacrificed to maintain the perverse integrity of the system. And along with the agent fall those personally involved with him, typically the apolitical women who are destroyed, or abandoned, or saved by paying the price of collaboration. Totalitarian evil always wins out, one way or another, in the spy story”
- “But discovery of the truth in the spy story is tragic, an ironic process in which the agent is trapped by means of his own reason.”
- “. This makes him, objectively, an anti-hero- not just an existentialist “dangling man,” but a professionally anonymous servitor carrying out a complicated sequence of institutional directives.”
- “In portraying the sordid Establishment ethic of “passing the buck” and dissipating moral responsibility for expedient state purposes, Conrad lays the groundwork for the typical structure of the spy story.”
- “This hideously ironic recognition of the tragic sense’s capacity to lend itself to the destruction of the basis of social good is one of the spy genre’s special contributions to modern literature and sensibility. According to the ancients, tragic vision was supposed to restore the values of civilization for the citizens attending the popular spectacles of Aeschylus and Sophocles. But the The Third Man and The Salzburg Connection are logical products of a century which claims total war, hot or cold, aimed by imperialist systems at the very lives of the apolitical innocents, to be justified as the only way of forging “permanent” peace.”
- “The spy story is biassed. One can go so far as to lay down a principle: spy stories are anti-Establishment.”
- He kills civilization within himself, first by eliminating the self through submission to the official will (the psychology of fascism, as portrayed, for instance, by Moravia in The Conformist,) then by assuming a thrilling new identity which legitimizes sadistic and masochistic impulses, and finally by apologizing to the hated civilization through emulating its style and code. The hero of the spy story is an institutionalized criminal who derives perverted fulfillment from the process of getting even with civilization at the same time that he seeks its approval.”
- “to shock ourselves with our ignorance and futility so badly that we grow inured to further shock- much as a trauma victim might deal with his shock by experiencing dreams recapitulating the original accident time and again.”
Von Szeliski, John. “Pessimism and Modern Tragedy.” Educational Theater Journal 16, no. 1 (March 1964): 40-46. Accessed November 1, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3204376.
In his article of theatrical criticism, John Von Szeliski claims that almost all works of modern American tragedies adopt an only pessimistic view of life and that this pessimism leads them to lack dramatic struggle and moral focus. He states that most characters in modern tragedies have somewhat of a death wish, being more willing to die than take part in a grand struggle. If they do not possess this death wish, then they are victims of a tragic ideal. These characteristics lead the work of tragedy to lack dramatic struggle as their characters see the act of struggle as pointless. Because of this, the work itself often expects and welcomes the tragic end. Additionally, the pessimism of modern tragedy negates a moral vision. In modern tragedies, evil always wins and so in the fight of good vs evil, one is always doomed. This source will help me form the criteria for what makes works modern tragedies. Additionally, it could be synthesized with Snyder’s belief that in spy stories evil or the totalitarian state always win in some form. Important keyterms are: tragedy, modern tragedy, dramatic struggle, morality, death wish, tragic ideal, good vs evil.
Useful Quotations:
- “The truly significant difference between modern and classical tragedians is in philosophical vision- the former’s pessimism being no match for the latter’s ultimate optimism” (Von Szeliski 40).
- “Pessimism in tragedy self-destructively states that evil is the ultimate power in the universe, and man, however mighty his struggle, is doomed to defeat from which no good can result” (Von Szeliski 41).
